Question

Briefly explain what the Gram stain tells you about a cell, and explain how Gram staining differs from natural pigmentation.

Answer 1

ANSWER :

The Gram staining is the technique used to differentiate two distinct bacterial forms called Gram positive (ve+) and Gram negative (ve-), on the basis of their retaining ability of crystal violet dye (one of the two main constituent of Gram stain). The cell wall of Gram positive bacteria have thick layer of peptidoglycan protein which retains more crystal violet dye and appear violet coloured (positive), while Gram negative bacteria have comparably very thin peptiddoglycan layer & does not retain the dye that given them pink (negative) colour during Gram staining procedure.